#7 Furnace & Ductwork Upgrade, Alton Steel
| Design Build Mechanical | icon Mechanical |
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icon Mechanical served as the prime mechanical contractor for this dust collection system upgrade as mandated by the EPA. icon was the contractor of choice on the basis of completeness of proposal, price structure, and commitment to the required schedule.
This project was divided into two phases so the performance of the system could be monitored as each phase was completed. The second phase was compressed from a 26-week schedule to an 11-week schedule to meet the compliance deadline.
Production schedules limited to working on Fridays and Saturday only until the scheduled outage. This restriction required careful planning and coordination to maximize the efforts during this two day work week. The shifts were expanded to two ten-hour shifts, seven days a week during the sixteen-day outage.
Our work scope included demolition and replacement of large-bore ductwork, fan housings, expansion joints, and capture hoods above the furnace. Subcontractors were responsible for controls, structural steel fabrication, cleaning, and electrical services. The majority of the activities were conducted on elevated work areas 80’ – 120’ above grade. A 350-ton truck crane was carefully positioned between existing steel towers to allow all hoisting to be completed with crane relocation. One visitor asked “How did you get the crane in that position?” and the reply was “This is a job of inches.” The reply was appropriate for several instances during this project.
The highlights of the project include an accident-free worksite, and mechanical completion of the project a few hours ahead of schedule which flowed into a regular plant start-up.